Celebrating Valentine's Day

 We celebrated Valentine's Day as a family with presents coming in for my husband starting the Thursday before. Freddy woke up to a Valentine's Day basket sent by balloons, filled with what else, but 24 bouncy balls. The best present ever... of course.

For breakfast I made egg in the hole toast, except the hole was a heart. I had been making heart shaped breakfast all week for my Red Velvet Pancake Recipe you can check out my recipe blog.

Freddy brought Valentine Cookies and Cupcakes to class.

For dinner Grandma came over and we made pizza. I cut pepperoni's in the shape of hearts to make them a little special. It was the best Valentine's I can remember.

Cookie Crafternoon Pre-Valentine's Party

Pre-celebration of Valentine's Day two of my girlfriends got together for a crafternoon of glory. We made cookies... lots of cookies: almond macarons with nutella filling, chocolate macarons with cherry filling, heart shaped shortbread cookies, filled shortbread cookies. 

One of my girl friends brought food coloring markers which we enjoyed making fun faces on our hearts. 

Leslie's brain child was a black cookie, which we thought would have made a hilarious heart, but we ended up making shortbread sandwiches. Which were very tasty but looked something like a homemade oreo... 

Easy Holiday Party Menu

Happy Holidays everybody... I hope it was wonderful. My husband and I have hosted a Christmas Party every year since we started dating. Suffice it to say it has changed much over the years. I believe that I have found a way to streamline the party, so it easy to prepare and easy to enjoy. Here are my top 10 of learned lessons... I hope they help.

1. Crockpot. Save your sanity and your oven. You can make almost any main course in your crockpot. Set it and forget it, just remember to serve it before you guests come.
2. Think platters. Serve yourself platters inspire feasting feeling of abundance and do not need to be passed around or kept hot like miniature appetizers. I love mini-apps, mini chicken and waffles, tiny pots of mac n'cheese. But let's be realistic, save it for small dinner parties and catering companies.
3. Punches. Don't waste time or money on hiring a bar tender. Just make one punch bowl full of something tasty, and have wine, beer, soda pops, and water.
4. Eco-friendly disposables. Don't do dishes... there is an entirely new breed of eco-friendly disposables that are either recycled and recyclable or compost-able.
5. Don't do desserts. We always spark up our chocolate fountain and make homemade marshmallows and chocolate chip cookies and put out fruit to dip. Most people aren't going to go in for massive sugar rush, so one dessert is plenty. Cupcakes, cannoli, mini pies, easy to make, easy to eat, and even easier if you buy them.
6. Candles. Centerpieces and flowers can be difficult if not expensive for parties. Use lots of candles it makes your home feel instantly welcoming, cozy, and well lit for pictures.
7. Music. Keep the music lively and a little loud, so guests feel energized and welcomed.
8. Have some outdoor space. We light our fire pit and put blankets outside even in the winter. It is great way to make our party space feel larger and lets people cool off if the house gets too hot.
9. Have fun. Nothing is less fun than a party where the host is a stress ball. Have fun, and your guests will have fun too.
10. Pay someone else to clean up. We always hire a hand to help with clean-up after a party. It is a wonderful way to enjoy your party and not dread the next day, when you can hire a little help. Many staffing firms can offer assistance for as little as $40/hour. We use Penguin Staff and they are wonderful.